I have to admit that I wasn't looking forward to the musical. I don't usually like special events that stop storylines from being advanced. Since most storylines go on for much longer than they should, I simply can't handle anything prolonging them. The one exception to this would be the special Fourth of July episodes that used to happen under Gary Tomlin's reign, but that is because I knew nothing big would happen on a holiday anyway. In spite of my opinion of special event episodes, the musical ended up being okay because it didn't consume entire episodes, and storylines still advanced.
It was kind of fun to see the actors sing and dance, and it looked like they were having fun throughout the musical. The high points for me were seeing Destiny and Darren sing "The Way You Make Me Feel," Starr singing "I Can't Live if I Don't," and Layla and Langston's rendition of "Battlefield." All three songs were appropriate for the characters' respective stories, and the actors did a great job with them.
The strangest part of the musical was watching Dorian become the main cheerleader for Starr and Cole's relationship. Since Dorian tends to dislike just about anyone "her girls" choose, it was disconcerting to see her insist that Cole be released from jail so he could go to the prom with Starr. Dorian is many things, but Cupid isn't usually one of them! I suppose I can chalk her behavior up to being part of the musical. It was supposed to be a magical night, so I guess Dorian was a part of that magic, at least for Starr and Cole.
I feel bad for Starr and Cole because they are in such a difficult situation. They can't reach a common ground about their opinions of Hannah and Todd, but they desperately want to make their relationship work. Personally, I think they should be more concerned about Cole possibly being headed to prison, but since soap characters rarely serve their sentences, I guess they don't need to worry about it. They looked like they had the weight of the world on their shoulders as they danced, though, and it was sad to watch. It will be interesting to see if their relationship can survive everything they will have to deal with after prom night.
Meanwhile, Markko finally learned that Langston has been cheating on him with Ford for months. Langston has been making a fool out of Markko, so I am glad that he didn't listen to her rationale and walked out on her. I don't know what Langston expected to happen, but she seemed surprised when he told her they were over. I was surprised when she told Ford that Markko would "get over it." It was a coldhearted comment, especially since she could see how hurt Markko was when he confronted her. He might get over it in time, but that doesn't mean he will ever look at her the same way.
Langston got her just desserts when Ford told her he didn't want a serious relationship and didn't love her. I have no sympathy for her. She was selfish and inconsiderate of Markko's feelings for a long time, and at this point, she deserves everything that she gets. She now knows that she and Karen, the pizza girl, will always be notches on Ford's belt and nothing more. I wonder how Dorian will react to all of this. That should be an interesting conversation!
Back at the prom, the seniors at Llanview High were robbed of a big moment. Since being voted prom king and queen is a big deal to some, it must have been disappointing to learn that the king and queen were Jessica and Cristian. The graduating class will always remember that their prom was hijacked by a 30-year-old woman who was trying to win her high school boyfriend back. It will make a good story for their high school reunion, so I guess something good came out of it!
I am glad that Brody decided to tell Jessica everything that no one else would. It has been frustrating to watch Jessica be in her own world without trying to recover her memories, and it was even more frustrating when she rejected the brief memory she had of being with Brody. She needed to hear the painful truth instead of having everyone indulge her teenage fantasies.
Jessica, however, felt that Brody was being the big, bad wolf and ended up in Ford's bed as a result. I am glad the floodgates opened as Ford was taking advantage of her. Her memory saved her from sleeping with Ford and brought her right back to Brody. I guess Ford is good for something, but maybe her outburst will teach him not to take advantage of girls anymore!
Of course, Brody didn't know that Jessica was on the cusp of remembering him, and he ended up in bed with Natalie to ease his broken heart. I like Natalie and Brody's friendship, but I don't see Brody and Natalie becoming a couple. They simply had a drunken, one-night stand. While I am sure both Brody and Natalie will agonize over whether they should tell Jessica and John about what they did, I don't see a strong romantic connection between the two. All I know is I don't want a pregnancy to come from this. We've had enough unexpected pregnancies to last for a while.
I might not agree with Natalie's mindset or actions most of the time, but it took guts for her to write that letter to John. I don't like that she did it so soon after Marty's miscarriage, but Natalie hasn't cared about that at all so far, so why start now? She also had Roxy encouraging her to go after John, so I guess she felt entitled to declare her love to John. I guess it ended up working to her advantage, since Marty found it and took action, but I wish Natalie would think of other people's feelings more often. I guess she and John have that in common.
While it was inappropriate for Marty to read Natalie's letter to John, I can see why she did it. She's known that Natalie would always be an issue in her relationship with John, and the letter merely confirmed her suspicions. I was happy when she told John she deserved better and couldn't be with him anymore. Marty is often portrayed as a victim, but she took charge of her life in that moment and did what was best for her. I have a feeling we won't see Marty much now that she is on her own, but at least she won't be in a dead-end relationship. It was only a matter of time before they broke up, and it was becoming hard to watch!
I still don't like the idea of John and Natalie reuniting. I didn't like them the first time around, and I probably won't this time either. I think John is better off alone, and Natalie needs a break in between mourning Jared and jumping into a new relationship. I was glad to hear her say Jared's name last week, since she acts like he never existed most of the time. I don't expect her to be in mourning forever, but she started pining for John almost immediately after Jared's death. I wonder if that will affect her new relationship with John. Probably not, but it would be interesting to see!
It was great to see Cristian and Layla get engaged. With all of the relationship angst on the show, it was nice to see a couple take a step forward and feel good about it. While I am happy for Cristian and Layla in general, I am relieved that their engagement decisively ended the weird situation with Jessica. Cristian finally took a stand and told Jessica that she wasn't a part of his life anymore and that he was moving on with the woman currently in his life.
I was afraid that Cristian would fall for Jessica again, since that seemed to be the initial direction of this story, but I am glad that it didn't happen. Cristian stayed with the woman who knows how old she is and who isn't stuck in the past. He has made bad choices in the past, but he made the right choice this time.
I wish Rex's search for his biological parents would be put on hold for a while. Since the writers can't definitively decide who Rex's parents are, I am afraid that we are headed for another false alarm with this necklace in Santa Fe. It's hard to be interested in this development. I completely understand why Rex wants to know so badly, but from a viewer's standpoint, it's hard to be interested in Rex's search for his parents. We waited a long time to learn the identity of Rex's father just to learn that Mitch wasn't Rex's father and Roxy wasn't his mother. Why should anyone care who Rex's parents are now?
I did, however, like how Rex didn't want to disappoint Bo by telling him he been arrested. He should have told Bo the truth, since Rex and Gigi are in quite a bind, but it's nice to see that he thinks so much of Bo that he can't tell him that he messed up. I also liked that Bo knew something was wrong. Bo and Rex share such a special bond, and while I don't want Bo to be Rex's biological father, Rex has a father figure in Bo, and that's good enough for me.
Finally, I absolutely love the new friendship between Blair and Téa. It has proven that they can get along and that neither one of them needs Todd to be in a story. I am sure that Todd will become a part of it once he learns about Téa's brain tumor, but for now, I think Blair and Téa are great as friends. They are on the path to becoming the future Viki and Dorian. They might despise each other most of the time, but deep down, they genuinely care about each other and will be there for each other when it counts. I hope we get to see a lot more of this friendship before Todd becomes a part of it.
Until next time,
Dawn
